Mail-cabinet.



PATENTED DEC. 31, 1907.

BTU-875,366.

G. W. MOORE. MAIL CABINET. APPLICATION FILED JULY 3. 1907.

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ya if U v. 64$ 102M127:

No. 875,366. PATENTED DEC. 31, 1907.

o. w. MOORE.

L CABINET.

I APPLIO H FILED JULY 8. 1907.

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9' $9M! iW f CHRISTOPHER W. MOORE, OF SPRING VALLEY, WISCONSIN.

MAIL-CABINET.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. {31, 1907 Application filed July 8, 1907. Serial No. 332.682.

To all whom it may concern: 7

Be it known that I, CHRISTOPHER W.

MOORE, of Spring Valley, Pierce county,

isconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements 1n Mail-Cabinets, of which the following 1s a specification.

A mail carrier on a rural free delivery route is obliged to handle lns mail over a good many times in the course of the delivery and it is often difficult in stormy weather to keep the mail matter dry and prevent it from becoming soiled or mutilated. Furthermore the necessity of looking over a mass of mail to find the letters or papers to be delivered at each farm house requires considerable time, and not only delays the de livery of the mail but renders it difficult for the carrier to make the trip in the appointed time.

The object therefore of my invention is to provide a cabinet having compartments or pockets in which the mail matter for each family is placed and easily and quickly re moved without the necessity of handling the entire mail.

A further object is toprovide a cabinet which will be dust and water proof and where in the sorted mail may be kept clean and dry.

A further object is to provide a cabinet designed particularly for carriers on rural free delivery routes but capable of use also for city delivery.

The invention consists generally in various constructions and combinations, all as hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, Figure 1 is a front elevation, partially in section, of a mail cabinet embodyin my invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the same. Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the interior portion of the cabinet showing the pockets or receptacles therein. Fig. 4 is adetail sectional view illustrating movable partitions between the pockets for the purpose of adapting the pockets to different quantities of mail matter. Fig. 5 is a side elevation with the cover raised, of the outer casing of the cabinet. Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the apparatus mounted on a push cart and adapted for city delivery.

In the drawing, 2 represents a circular shell or drum preferably of sheet metal and divided by partitions 3 into a series of peripheral pockets or compartments 4. A

second series 5 is provided at the center of the drum and a third series 6 intermediate to those at the center and the periphery of the drum and separated from one another by the partitions corresponding to those employed with the first series. There may be any desired number of pockets in the dif ferent circles according to the quantity of mail to be delivered on the route and the diameter of the drums may be varied according to the length of the route and the volume of mail.

The drum is provided with a shaft 7 and an indicator hand 8 mounted. thereon and a button 9 is mounted on said indicator hand for convenience in revolving it and the drum. Rings 10 and 11 are removably arranged on said drum and on these rings numerals or other characters are placed, one for each compartment or pocket. These rings are placed on the drum preparatory to sorting the mail and enable the carrier to determine in which pocket to place the letters or papers for the different families along the road. A casing 12 is provided in which the drum is placed having bearings 13 for the ends of the shaft 7. A hinged cover 14 is provided for the casing, and index cards 15 are mounted on the cover and bear the names of the persons living along the route, with the number of the pocket or compartment in which the mail for that person or family is placed.

As indicated in Fig. 3 the pockets directly above the indicator hand when it is turned to a vertical position, are marked 101 201 and 301 from the periphery toward the center of the drum, and the numbers increase from right to left around the circle of the rings. A dial 16 is mounted on the easing, composed of concentric circles or rings bearing numbers corresponding to those on the drum rings, except that they are oppositely arranged, that is, the numbers increase reading from left to right. The cover of the casing is provided with a series of openings 17, 18 and 18 and doors 2O therefor, which when closed conceal the drum and pockets but when opened permit convenient access thereto for the purpose of removing the mail. It will only be necessary, therefore, for the carrier to open one of the doors in the front of the cabinet, having adjusted the indicator opposite the number corresponding to the one on the index card designating the family to which he is to deliver mail, and remove the letters or papers without handling any of I the pockets may be placed. These doors are normally held in place by spring clips 24.

In Fig. 6 I have illustrated a push cart 25 whereon the cabinet is mounted and adapted for use in delivering the mail. On a rural delivery route the cabinet is preferably placed in the front of the wagon or-buggy and forms the dash board, and can be conveniently reached by the carrier and the mail removed without the necessity of leaving his seat. The cabinet may be made of any suitable size and any preferred material. A suitable handle 26 is provided for convenience in lifting the drum out of the casing.

In Fig. 4 I have illustrated a modification which consists in providing partitions 27 which are capable of adjustment in the guides 28 to permit the pockets to be increased in size whenever the volume of mail for any one family or person requires it.

' I claim as my invention A mail cabinet comprising a vertical casing having openings at intervals in its wall between its center and periphery, and suitable doors for said openings, and a series of marks or characters arranged in concentric circles on said wall, a drum arranged to revolve in a substantially vertical plane within said casing and having its center concentric with said circles of marks or characters, the intetion, and the numbers on said casing correspondin to index numbers and designating certain amilies along the. delivery route, an indicator hand carried by said drum and arranged to revolve past the numbers on .said casing, whereby when the indicator hand is revolved with the drum in one direction and set opposite a certain number on the casing the pocket of the drum designated by that number when the mail is sorted, will be opposite the proper removal opening in the cas- In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 27th day of June 1907.

CHRISTOPHER W. MOORE. Witnesses:

J. B. ERA, J. H. BALDWIN. 

